World Series 2014 Reaction

Growing up in the nineties and 2000s, the Royals would lose 100 games every year out of 162 in the regular season. These were not like the great teams of the seventies and eighties led by George Brett. Oh sure we had good players, but we were basically everybody’s AAAA team. Players would get good, and then want to leave for bigger markets. But finally we started getting good around 2013, and everybody on the current roster came up around 2012.

The epic nature of the wildcard game against our former team, the Athletics (moved from KC to Oakland in 1968. Then the Royals became an expansion franchise in 1969), was alone enough to write legends about. Especially after we wallowed in mediocrity for so many years.

Then the historian in me thought to himself, this has got to be our year, when Alex Gordon was on 3^rd base, with Salvador Perez up at bat in Game 7. All we needed was 90 more feet. It’s the scenario you dream up playing pickup baseball games with your friends in the backyard. Until Joe Buck’s new man crush Madison Bumgardner came in to save the day.

The San Francisco Giants may have won the World Series. Which they seem to do every other year under current management. But I personally think we put the baseball world on notice that the Royals don’t suck anymore.

I know it’s totally cliché in sports, when players and coaches say there’s always next year, but I really do feel like next year will definitely be our year. Sometimes, you learn more from defeat, then you do from victory.